Al Ain: El Jaish will be looking to start their AFC Champions League (ACL) campaign when they take on the strong Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ain in the opening Group D fixture today.
El Jaish are returning to the AFC Champions League Group Stage for the first time since 2014 after failing to make it last time out following a 1-0 play-off defeat to Iran’s Naft Tehran.
But after gaining play-off revenge against the Iranians in a 2-0 win earlier this month, the Qataris will go into the Group D opener full of hope that they can making a winning start in their quest to at least match their tournament best Round of 16 performance in 2013.
“Our task is very hard because we are playing against one of the best teams in the region, which means we must double our efforts and concentration if we want to get a positive result,” said coach Sabri Lamouchi, whose team lost 3-0 to fellow AFC Champions League side Lekhwiya in their latest league match on Thursday.
“We suffered a big defeat in the local league but this is a different tournament and it will be a new challenge for the players.
“We will try to play with our own style and produce a good performance in the match.”
Their opponents, Al Ain’s Coach Zlatko Dalic has set a minimum haul of 10 points in order to progress from Group D.
They go into the game at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Al Shabab in their domestic campaign but looking to advance from the group stage for the third successive season.
The Emiratis, though, have been drawn in a tough looking group alongside Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli, Nasaf of Uzbekistan and El Jaish also will be looking to get off to a strong start in front of their home fans.
“Our target is to get past the group stage and in order to achieve this we must get at least 10 points,” said Croatian Dalic, who will be unable to call on injured duo Danilo Asprilla and Ahmed Barman.
“The first match is always important and what makes it hard for us is that we will be playing against a strong team.
“The two sides will go into the match on the back of recent defeats but we have good, experienced players who are able to get past such setbacks.
“We want to win the match and hopefully we can get three points which will give us a big push in the competition.”The Peninsula
